dpkg-split(1)

1dpkg-split(1)                     dpkg suite                     dpkg-split(1)
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NAME

6       dpkg-split - Debian package archive split/join tool
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SYNOPSIS

9       dpkg-split [option...] command
10

DESCRIPTION

12       dpkg-split  splits  Debian  binary package files into smaller parts and
13       reassembles them again, to support the storage of large  package  files
14       on small media such as floppy disks.
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16       It  can  be  operated  manually  using  the  --split, --join and --info
17       options.
18
19       It also has an automatic mode, invoked using the --auto  option,  where
20       it  maintains  a  queue  of  parts  seen  but  not  yet reassembled and
21       reassembles a package file when it has  seen  all  of  its  parts.  The
22       --listq and --discard options allow the management of the queue.
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24       All  splitting,  joining  and  queueing  operations produce informative
25       messages on standard output; these may safely be ignored.
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COMMANDS

28       -s, --split complete-archive [prefix]
29              Splits a single Debian binary package into several parts.
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31              The parts are named prefix.NofM.deb where N is the part  number,
32              starting  at  1,  and  M  is  the total number of parts (both in
33              decimal).
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35              If no prefix is supplied then the complete-archive  filename  is
36              taken, including directory, with any trailing .deb removed.
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38       -j, --join part...
39              Joins  the  parts  of  a package file together, reassembling the
40              original file as it was before it was split.
41
42              The part files given as arguments  must  be  all  the  parts  of
43              exactly  the  same  original  binary  file. Each part must occur
44              exactly once in the argument list, though the parts to not  need
45              to be listed in order.
46
47              The  parts  must of course all have been generated with the same
48              part size specified at split time, which means  that  they  must
49              usually have been generated by the same invocation of dpkg-split
50              --split.
51
52              The parts' filenames are  not  significant  for  the  reassembly
53              process.
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55              By default the output file is called package_version_arch.deb.
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58       -I, --info part...
59              Prints  information,  in a human-readable format, about the part
60              file(s) specified. Arguments which are not binary package  parts
61              produce  a  message  saying  so  instead  (but still on standard
62              output).
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64       -a, --auto -o complete-output part
65              Automatically queue parts and reassemble a package if possible.
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67              The part specified is examined, and compared with other parts of
68              the same package (if any) in the queue of packages file parts.
69
70              If  all  parts  of  the package file of which part is a part are
71              available  then  the  package  is  reassembled  and  written  to
72              complete-output  (which should not usually already exist, though
73              this is not an error).
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75              If not then the part is copied  into  the  queue  and  complete-
76              output is not created.
77
78              If  part is not a split binary package part then dpkg-split will
79              exit with status 1; if some other trouble occurs  then  it  will
80              exit with status 2.
81
82              The  --output  or  -o option must be supplied when using --auto.
83              (If this were not mandatory the calling program would  not  know
84              what output file to expect.)
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86       -l, --listq
87              Lists the contents of the queue of packages to be reassembled.
88
89              For each package file of which parts are in the queue the output
90              gives the name of the package, the parts in the queue,  and  the
91              total number of bytes stored in the queue.
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93       -d, --discard [package...]
94              This  discards  parts  from  the  queue of those waiting for the
95              remaining parts of their packages.
96
97              If no package is specified then the queue is cleared completely;
98              if  any are specified then only parts of the relevant package(s)
99              are deleted.
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101       -?, --help
102              Show the usage message and exit.
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104       --version
105              Show the version and exit.
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OPTIONS

108       --depotdir directory
109              Specifies an  alternative  directory  for  the  queue  of  parts
110              awaiting automatic reassembly. The default is /var/lib/dpkg.
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112       -S, --partsize kibibytes
113              Specifies  the  maximum  part  size when splitting, in kibibytes
114              (1024 bytes). The default is 450 KiB.
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116       -o, --output complete-output
117              Specifies the output file name for a reassembly.
118
119              This overrides the default for a manual reassembly (--join)  and
120              is mandatory for an automatic queue-or-reassemble (--auto).
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122       -Q, --npquiet
123              When  doing  automatic  queue-or-reassembly  dpkg-split  usually
124              prints a message if it is given a part  that  is  not  a  binary
125              package  part.  This  option  suppresses  this message, to allow
126              programs such as dpkg  to  cope  with  both  split  and  unsplit
127              packages without producing spurious messages.
128
129       --msdos
130              Forces  the  output  filenames generated by --split to be msdos-
131              compatible.
132
133              This mangles the prefix - either the default  derived  from  the
134              input filename or the one supplied as an argument: alphanumerics
135              are lowercased, plus signs are replaced by  x's  and  all  other
136              characters are discarded.
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138              The  result  is  then  truncated  as  much  as is necessary, and
139              filenames of the form prefixNofM.deb are generated.
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EXIT STATUS

142       0      The requested split, merge, or other command succeeded.   --info
143              commands  count  as  successful even if the files are not binary
144              package parts.
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146       1      Only occurs with --auto and indicates that the part file was not
147              a binary package part.
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149       2      Fatal  or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage,
150              a file that looked like a package part file but  was  corrupted,
151              or  interactions  with  the  system,  such  as  accesses  to the
152              database, memory allocations, etc.
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ENVIRONMENT

155       DPKG_COLORS
156              Sets the color mode (since dpkg 1.18.5).  The currently accepted
157              values are: auto (default), always and never.
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159       SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
160              If  set,  it will be used as the timestamp (as seconds since the
161              epoch) in the deb-split(5)'s ar(5) container.
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FILES

164       /var/lib/dpkg/parts
165              The default queue directory for part  files  awaiting  automatic
166              reassembly.
167
168              The filenames used in this directory are in a format internal to
169              dpkg-split and are unlikely to be useful to other programs,  and
170              in any case the filename format should not be relied upon.
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BUGS

173       Full details of the packages in the queue are impossible to get without
174       digging into the queue directory yourself.
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176       There is no easy way to test whether  a  file  that  may  be  a  binary
177       package part is one.
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